"Royal Mail sued by delivery drivers in ‘Uber-style’ gig economy legal case"

Parcelforce couriers have gone to court for the right to be classed as workers rather than self-employed owner drivers

Royal Mail is being sued for classifying delivery drivers as self-employed, enabling it to avoid paying sick pay and the minimum wage, in a case that mirrors a landmark gig economy legal ruling against Uber.

The Royal Mail drivers allege that the practice means Parcelforce – the company’s parcel delivery subsidiary – can also make them pay hundreds of pounds in fines when they call in sick.

Marc Francis, one of the claimants in the case, which is being handled by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and the solicitor Leigh Day, said that after 10 years of working for Parcelforce he has “had enough”.

The drivers argue that Parcelforce and its parent Royal Mail wrongly classify a large number of its delivery drivers such as Francis as self-employed owner drivers.[...]

“The reason why owner drivers are much more suitable to the business is purely down to exploitation,” Francis said. “You can talk to me about money all you want but this case is not about that. All I want is legal rights – rights that we’re due,” he added.

The case resembles a seminal legal battle against Uber that went all the way to the supreme court in 2021 in which Uber drivers won the right to be classed as workers rather than self-employed contractors. [...]

A Parcelforce spokesperson said: “All of our owner drivers are self-employed and we refute any claims that this is not the case.

“Our self-employed drivers play a valuable role in delivering parcels in the UK and are free to provide their services to other businesses.

“Our owner drivers can choose whether to personally make deliveries and collections or arrange for other drivers to do them. We are unable to comment on an ongoing legal claim.”